Netflix’s latest anti-password sharing test

Netflix is ​​testing new ways to deal with password sharing in Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and the Dominican Republic (first reported  by Bloomberg). The Netflix support page  in Honduras clearly states that if you have an account on your TV or TV-connected device outside your main home that will last for more than two weeks, the test will require you to pay an additional fee. .. 

There is an additional charge of 219 pesos (US $ 1.17) and US $ 2.99 per month for each additional home in Argentina. Not only can devices around your home access Netflix, but you can also move and use Netflix on your laptop or mobile device. Step. In this test, the user can purchase additional "houses" and add or skip to use the service on the TV screen. 

The support page explains the process: 

Add an extra home 

Beginning August 22, 2022, when you sign in to Netflix on a TV outside of your home, you will see the option to add the extra home for an additional fee per month. 

If you will only be using this TV for a limited time, you can watch Netflix for up to 2 weeks at no extra charge as long your account has not been previously used in that location. After that time, the TV will be blocked unless you add the extra home. 

The support pages also go into more detail about how Netflix determines a “home,” defined as “a physical location - like your house - where you can use your Netflix on any of your devices.” 

Further down the page, it explains what Netflix does to detect use at a different “home.” 

How Netflix detects homes 

We use information such as IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity. 

If you are using a device within your included home and still see a message that says that too many homes are using your account, you can: 

Make sure that the device is connected to the same internet connection as the other devices in the home. 

Make sure your device is not connected to a VPN, proxy, or  unblocker service. According to 

Netflix, if you use  Netflix on a TV outside your home while you're traveling, you'll be able to use it for up to two weeks at no additional charge, unless you've previously used your account there. Allowed once a year for each location. ”

In these countries, Netflix is ​​also working on the ability to track where your account is  used and restrict access. You can add up to 2 homes for the basic plan, up to 2 for the standard plan, and up to 3 for the premium plan.

"It's great that our members love Netflix movies and TV shows so much that they want to share them more widely," Chengyi Long,  director of product innovation at Netflix, said in a statement. declare. "But today's widespread  sharing of accounts among households hurts our  ability to invest in the long term and improve our services." 

This expands on Netflix's existing experiment, pushing subscribers in Costa Rica, Peru, and Colombia to pay more for users who live outside of their households. Netflix  currently charges users an extra CLP 2,380 ($2.52) in Chile, $2.99 ​​in Costa Rica, and PEN 7.9 ($2.02) in Peru when adding up to two "sub-accounts" " added to an existing account. The company has also begun testing a profile transfer tool that is supposed to make it easier for someone to transfer  recommendations, watch history, and My List. It's a way for the platform to passively entice password-sharers to open a new account or access a sub-account.

In May, a report from Rest of World revealed confusion among subscribers who are part of the test in Peru. Some subscribers were reportedly unsure about Netflix’s definition of a “household,” while others were able to get around a prompt meant to validate account owners.

Netflix first announced it would be testing ways to charge for password sharing in March, just a few weeks after it announced price increases for US customers. Netflix is also working on an ad-supported subscription option and, just last week, said it would partner with Microsoft to power its advertisements. The company has clear reasons to look for new ways to generate revenue; in April, after a subscriber boom earlier in the pandemic, it announced in April that it had lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade. The company’s next quarterly earnings report will be released on Tuesday afternoon.

Update July 18th, 7:30PM ET: Added additional information from Netflix’s Support pages about how the options work, that it appears for users signing in on a TV or TV-connected device, how Netflix defines a “home,” and what information Netflix tracks to detect where and how subscribers are using the service.